Machine-readable finding aid created by Lindsay Sprechman as MS Word document in 2016. Finding aid was encoded by Lindsay Sprechman in 2016. Description is in English.

Arthur S. Obermayer was
a scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He
established his own research and development company, Moleculon Research Company, in the
Boston area and was involved in numerous philanthropic and professional organizations,
especially through his foundation, the Obermayer Foundation. Obermayer was also a political
activist, and played a key role in establishing the Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) Program. This collection contains correspondence, business records, news clippings,
notes, photographs, reports, and sound and video recordings documenting Obermayer’s
professional work, philanthropy, and political involvement, as well as those of his parents
Leon J. and Julia S. Obermayer, his wife Judith Hirschfield Obermayer, and his brother and
sister-in-law, Herman J. “Obe” and Betty Nan Obermayer.

Arthur S. Obermayer (ASO) was born on July 17, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Leon
J. and Julia Sinsheimer Obermayer. He attended Central High School in Philadelphia,
graduating in 1948, and later earned a BS in Chemistry from Swarthmore College in 1952. ASO
went on to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he received his Ph.D. in
Chemistry in 1956.

After receiving his Ph.D, ASO remained in the Boston area and took a job at Tracerlab,
Inc., working as a project leader and senior scientist researching nuclear explosions from
1956-1959. ASO then took a job at Allied Research Associates as manager of the Physical
Sciences Division and Chemistry Department, also mainly researching nuclear weapons
effects.

In 1961, ASO founded his own successful research and development company, Moleculon
Research Corporation (also known as Moleculon Research Company) (MRC), headquartered in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Early on, MRC worked on government research projects, focusing
mainly on the effect of radiation on plastics following nuclear explosions. MRC expanded its
work into the development of new chemical, polymer, and pharmaceutical products for both
government and private industry. Among other projects, MRC developed and received a patent
for Poroplastic, a sponge-like material that could be impregnated with almost any liquid or
precipitated solid and that had a broad range of practical applications, including toxic
vapor monitoring, controlled release, and hydrometallurgical processing.

In 1982, ASO founded Moleculon, Inc. (also known as Moleculon BioTech, Inc.), to which all
MRC’s pharmaceutical and biomedical applications were transferred. In 1984, Moleculon, Inc.
went public, and in 1988, it was sold to Australian pharmaceutical company F.H. Faulding
& Co.

Later in life, ASO became involved in other businesses, including Fiberspar, a company
specializing in composite tubing, and Zerostage Capital, a venture capital firm.

ASO became increasingly involved in politics after attending the 1968 Democratic National
Convention in Chicago, which was notoriously plagued with violence. After returning home
from Chicago, ASO became co-chairman of the Newton Coalition for New Politics (NCNP), a
grassroots organization which endorsed and supported candidates for office. In 1970, ASO
proposed that the NCNP encourage Father Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest, dean of the Boston
College Law School, and a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War, to run against long-time
representative of the Massachusetts’s Third Congressional District, Philip Philbin. With
ASO’s help, Drinan defeated Philbin and served in Congress for five terms.

In 1972, ASO became involved with Senator George McGovern’s campaign for president. ASO
campaigned for McGovern heavily and spent a month in California before the state's primary,
meeting with aerospace engineers and business leaders on behalf of the campaign. He also
helped draft McGovern’s science and technology positions.

In addition to the Drinan and McGovern campaigns, ASO supported and worked for numerous
other campaigns on the national, state, and local level. He also worked closely with
Massachusetts politician Michael Dukakis on his gubernatorial and presidential campaigns,
and when Dukakis became governor in 1975, he appointed ASO to serve on the Board of the
Governor’s Management Task Force.

ASO advocated for economic conversion—the transfer of federal dollars from military
spending to private, small business companies. ASO testified before Congress and worked with
Representative Drinan and Senator Ted Kennedy on this issue. ASO also worked with Kennedy on
what, after years of work, eventually became the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Program. ASO believed that small research companies like MRC were being discriminated
against in receiving government grants and contracts, which mostly went to universities.
Working with ASO, Kennedy introduced legislation that mandated the National Science
Foundation (NSF), and later, all government agencies, send a small percentage of their
research and development funds to the SBIR Program, which then went to small businesses.
Throughout the following years, ASO testified in support of the program, and in 1982, the
SBIR bill was passed.

ASO and his family were also involved in philanthropy. He and his wife established the
Obermayer Foundation, a small operating fund that supported a variety of programs. Through
the Obermayer Foundation, ASO published the American Editorial
Review, a compilation of editorials and op-eds from the 15 largest circulating
newspaper in the United States on the topic of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Obermayer Foundation also founded the Jewish Museum in Crenglingen, Germany, where
ASO’s maternal grandparents were from. The museum focuses on the lives and contributions of
the town’s former Jewish residents. Similarly, each year the Obermayer Foundation honors
five non-Jewish Germans who have worked to preserve Jewish history and culture in their
country. The Obermayer German Jewish History Awards, co-sponsored by the Berlin Parliament,
are awarded at a ceremony at the Abgeorfnetenhaus in Berlin. For his efforts in fostering
German-Jewish relations, the Federal Republic of Germany awarded ASO the Federal Order of
Merit, the nation's highest honor.

The Obermayer Foundation has also worked to further the field of Jewish genealogy. The
Foundation was active in growing JewishGen, the largest Jewish genealogy internet presence;
ASO was a leader of the German Jewish Special Interest Group (GerSIG) of JewishGen.
Additionally, ASO realized the important role of the internet early on, and the Obermayer
Foundation provided pro bono work in helping non-profit organizations develop internet
strategies and construct websites.

ASO was active in many organizations, and often held high-ranking positions in them. In his
quest to help settle the Arab-Israeli conflict and to further Jewish causes, ASO was active
in the American Friends for Religious Freedom in Israel (ARFRI-HEMDAT-ARFR), which promoted
religious freedom and pluralism in Israel; was on the Board of the American Jewish
Historical Society (AJHS) in New York and Boston; served on the Board of the New Israel
Fund, which worked toward social justice and equality for all Israelis; and was on the Board
of InterfaithFamily.com, a web resource for interfaith families exploring Jewish life and
identity.

ASO also was active in various professional and scientific organizations, many of which
focused on helping small research companies succeed and advocated for those in the science
and engineering fields. He served as vice president and sat on the Board of the American
Association of Small Research Companies (AASRC). ASO was active in the American Chemical
Society (ACS), receiving a Sixty Years of Service Award from them in 2012, and was
especially active in its regional subsection, the Northeastern Section of the American
Chemical Society (NESACS). He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NESACS in 1989,
as well as on the Esselen Award Committee. This committee selected the winners of the annual
Esselen Award for Chemistry, which recognizes a chemist whose work has contributed to the
public wellbeing. ASO was a member of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), serving
as its treasurer from 1972-1974, and served on the Advisory Panel to the Experimental
Research and Development Incentives Program of the NSF from 1973-1976. ASO founded his own
organization, the Association of Technical Professionals (ATP), a Boston-based group that
advocated for the science and engineering positions during a time of high unemployment, and
served as its president from 1971-1978.

ASO was always interested in the Soviet Union, and as its dissolution was near, he became
involved in emerging private enterprise in Russia. In 1990, he established and served as
president of the Soviet Countertrade Group, whose mission was to bring companies together to
finance and invest in businesses, particularly hotels, in the USSR. ASO also founded
East-West TV (formerly called American Soviet Economic Education Television, or AMSEE-TV),
an educational foundation that produced programs for Russian television explaining market
economics and free enterprise. Through East-West TV, Russian crews were invited to the
United States to work on these programs, during which they interviewed American economists
as well as Russian immigrants. ASO was also active in the US-USSR Bridge for
Peace/Transnational Institute, whose mission was to provide dialogue and understanding
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Besides organizations related to Jewish, Israeli, scientific, and Soviet issues, ASO worked
with and supported his local community. He served as a trustee of the Charles River Museum
of Industry in Waltham, Massachusetts, which celebrated the region’s industrial history. ASO
was on the Board of Overseers and Executive Advisory Council of WBUR, Boston’s public radio
station. He also was a member and supporter of NewTV, Newton, Massachusetts’s public access
channel. In 2004, his request for NewTV to air the Middle Eastern news program “Mosaic”
caused a controversy, as some deemed it to be anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. Many editorials
and op-eds were written both in support and opposition to the program’s airing. ASO himself
wrote his opinions, noting that he felt it was crucial for Americans to see how they are
perceived in the Middle East. ASO was active in many more organizations, including the
Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) and the New England Historic
Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

ASO married Judith (Judy) Hirschfield (JHO) in 1963. JHO was born on May 7, 1935 in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a BS in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University
in 1956 and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Harvard University in 1963. From 1960 to 1966, she
worked as an assistant professor of mathematics at Wellesley College. Though she left
teaching to take care of her children, JHO returned to work when her children were grown.
She was a principal and director at MRC, sat on the Small Business Association Task Force on
Small Business, and in 1980, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts
Technology Development Corporation (MTDC). Additionally, JHO, like ASO, was crucial in
getting the SBIR bill passed in 1982, and was present at the White House when the bill was
signed by President Ronlad Reagan. She and ASO were inducted into the SBIR Hall of Fame in
2015 for their years of work. JHO was active in the American Jewish Committee (AJC), serving
as president of the Boston chapter and a member of the national Board of Governors. She also
was a founder and co-chair of the Black-Jewish Economic Roundtable, an AJC program, whose
mission is to promote social and business interaction between the African American and
Jewish communities of the Boston area, and president of Obermayer Associates, a consulting
firm specializing in helping small business develop and grow. ASO and JSO had three
children: Henry, Joel, and Marjorie.

ASO died on January 10, 2016.

Leon J. Obermayer (1886-1984)

ASO’s father, Leon J. Obermayer (LJO) was born on September 24, 1886 in Sciota, Illinois.
In 1894, he and his family relocated to Philadelphia, where he attended Central High School,
graduating in 1904. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his L.L.B.
from its law school in 1908, and joined the firm Mason and Edmonds. In 1925, the firm
changed its name to Edmonds, Obermayer & Rebmann, and today still exists under the name
Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel.

LJO was active in the civic and Jewish community of Philadelphia. He served as chair of the
Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association (and founded the organization’s
publication, The Shingle), president of the Philadelphia
School Board from 1955-1961, chairman of the Woods School, president of the YM-YWHA of
Philadelphia, president and Board Chairman of the American Jewish Historical Society, and
chairman of the B’nai B’rith National Vocational Service Bureau. LJO was also especially
active in the Boy Scouts of America, and served as president and later honorary president of
the Philadelphia Council of the Boy Scouts. For his service to Philadelphia, he was named
one of Greater Philadelphia Magazine’s Fifty Foremost
Citizens in 1959.

On May 24, 1923, LJO married Julia Sinsheimer Obmermayer (JSO). JSO was born on December 4,
1900 in New York, New York. She attended Teacher’s College at Columbia University and then
began working as a laboratory researcher in bacteriology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York
City. LJO and JSO were avid travelers. They were also active members at Congregation Rodeph
Shalom in Philadelphia as well as major collectors of Judaica, some of which is on permanent
display at Rodeph Shalom. The couple had three children: Herman, Helen, and Arthur.

LJO died on October 2, 1984 at the age of 98. JSO died 12 years later, on July 5, 1996.

Herman J. Obermayer (1924-2016)

ASO’s older brother, Herman J. Obermayer (HJO), known as Obe, was born on September 19,
1924 in Philadelphia. Like ASO and their father, he attended Central High School and later
attended Dartmouth College. He was drafted into the Army during his first year at Dartmouth,
and was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), a program to prepare men
to fill specialized technical positions in the Army. He was sent to William and Mary College
in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he studied civil engineering. In 1944, when the Army
decided to disband the ASTP, many of its men were sent to the European theater of Operations
as infantry replacements. HJO was assigned to an oil pipeline unit in France. He later wrote
about his experience overseas in his book Soldiering for
Freedom. After his discharge, HJO returned to Dartmouth and graduated in 1948.

After graduation, HJO worked for various newspapers as a reporter and advertising manager.
During his time at the New Orleans Item, he met Betty Nan
Levy (BNO), his future wife, with whom he had four daughters: Helen, Veronica, Adele, and
Elizabeth. In 1957, HJO purchased the Long Branch Daily
Record of Long Branch, New Jersey, and then in 1963, purchased the Northern Virginia Sun, based in Arlington, Virginia. For both
papers, he wrote weekly editorials. He sold the Daily Record
in 1971 and the Sun in 1988.

From 1990 to 2001, he and BNO worked for the State Department as consultants to newspapers
in the former Soviet Union and wrote reports on the state of the press in these countries.
In 1995, HJO published his second book, Rehnquist: A Personal
Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the United States, about Chief
Justice William Rehnquist, a close friend of HJO’s.

BNO died on January 26, 2013, and HJO died on May 11, 2016 at the age of 91.

References

Materials from the collection.

Libo, Kenneth, and Michael Feldberg. The Obermayers: A History of a
Jewish Family in Germany and America, 1618-2009. West Newton, MA: Obermayer
Foundation, Inc., 2009.

Chronology

September 24, 1886

LJO is born in Sciota, Illinois.

December 4, 1900

JSO is born in New York, New York.

May 24, 1923

LJO and JSO marry.

September 19, 1924

HJO is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

July 17, 1931

ASO is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

May 7, 1935

JHO is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1948

ASO graduates from Central High School.

1952

ASO graduates from Swarthmore College.

1956

ASO recieves his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

1956-1959

ASO works at Tracerlab.

1959-1961

ASO works at Allied Research Associates.

1961

ASO founds Moleculon Research Corporation.

June 22, 1963

ASO and JHO marry.

1971

ASO founds the Association of Technical Professionals (ATP).

1975-1978

ASO serves on the Board of the Governor's Management Task Force.

1982

ASO founds Moleculon, Inc.

1982

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) bill is passed.

October 2, 1984

LJO dies.

1988

ASO sells Moleculon, Inc. to F.H. Fauling & Co.

1989

American Editorial Review begins publication.

1990

ASO founds the Soviet Countertrade Group.

1991

ASO establishes East-West TV.

July 5, 1996

JSO dies.

2000

Creglingen Jewish Museum building is dedicated.

2000

Obermayer German Jewish History Awards are initiated.

2007

ASO is awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

2012

ASO recieves the Sixty Years of Service Award from the American Chemical
Society.

This collection contain correspondence, business records, news clippings, photographs,
sound and video recordings, awards, reports, and notes documenting the personal,
professional, political, and charitable work of Arthur S. Obermayer, a Boston-based
scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. This collection details his personal life,
including academic materials from Swarthmore College and MIT, his travels around the world,
and correspondence with friends and family. It also contains materials related to the
founding and managing of Moleculon Research Company, a research and development company
Obermayer established in Cambridge in 1961, as well as other business ventures in which he
took part. Also included are records describing Obermayer’s involvement in politics,
including numerous campaigns on which he worked, as well as his key role in establishing the
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Additionally, materials related to his
activities in various philanthropic organizations are included, particularly his work
promoting Jewish, Israeli, and scientific causes, as well as his efforts to bridge a gap
between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Also contained are the records of the Obermayer
Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Obermayer and his wife, through which they
established the Creglingen Jewish Museum and the Obermayer German Jewish History Awards.
This collection also contains materials documenting the life and work of Obermayer’s parents
Leon J. and Julia S. Obermayer, his wife Judith Obermayer, and his brother and
sister-in-law, Herman J. “Obe” and Betty Nan Obermayer. Some folders are restricted. Some
audiovisual items have been removed from the collection for proper storage and can be
located in box 56. These items are identified with a separation of materials form.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Collections and Engagement of the American Jewish Historical Society,
except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

This collection contains audiovisual or electronic media that requires special equipment to access. Please notify reference staff at reference@ajhs.org 24 hours in advance of needing access.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library
and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for
permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this
collection. For more information contact: American Jewish Historical Society, Center
for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011email:
reference@ajhs.org

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series contains correspondence, news clippings, photographs, reports, awards,
notes, and family trees related to the Obermayer family, including LJO, JSO, HJO, BNO,
JHO, and other miscellaneous members of the family. Included are the materials
documenting HJO’s work as newspaper editor, HJO and BNO’s reporting for the State
Department, JHO’s work as president of various organizations, LJO’s service with the Boy
Scouts, and LJO and JSO’s ceremonial art collection. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, news clippings, reports, manuscripts, and
photographs documenting the life of HJO and BNO. Included are materials related to
HJO’s work as editor of the Northern Virginia Sun and
Long Branch Daily Record (including his weekly
editorials), HJO and BNO’s work for the State Department reporting on free press in
post-Soviet states, and their elaborate birthday celebrations. The couple often
celebrated events by printing mock newspaper issues, which are included in this
subseries. Folders that pertain solely to either HJO or BNO are noted with that
individual’s initials. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains JHO’s copybooks, or books of correspondence, related to her
work at MRC and Moleculon, Inc. and her time as president of the Boston chapter of the
American Jewish Committee, co-chair of the Black-Jewish Economic Roundtable, and
president of Obermayer Associates.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, pamphlets, awards, certificates, legal
documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, class notes and materials, date books,
interviews, notes, newsletters, articles, and scrapbooks documenting the life of LJO
and JSO. Of note are materials related to their collection of Jewish ceremonial
objects at Congregation Rodeph Shalom; their travel throughout Europe, Asia, and
Africa; LJO’s involvement in the Boy Scouts; and LJO’s collections of literature on
religious education in public schools and on World War I, the interwar period, and
World War II. Folders that pertain solely to either LJO or JSO are noted with that
individual’s initials.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, family trees, and photographs of various
members of the Obermayer family, including BNO’s father Captain Neville Levy, LJO’s
brother Henry Max Obermayer, LJO’s mother Veronika Lehman Obermayer, ASO’s sister
Helen Sellers, and JSO’s father Joseph Sinsheimer. Correspondence to Veronika
Obermayer from her family in Germany are in German, but have translations attached.
Also included is a journal written by LJO, JSO and their children documenting their
1941 road trip around the country.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series contains notes, reports, correspondence, legal documents, news clippings,
brochures, and photographs documenting ASO’s personal life. Included are materials
related to his academics at Swarthmore College and MIT, his travels around the globe,
and personal and some professional correspondence. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains materials related to ASO’s academics, including his tenure at
Swarthmore College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Included are
class notes, reports, graduation materials, and alumni activities. Also included are
materials on ASO’s thesis at MIT titled “Polyfunctionality in Polar Displacement
Reactions.”

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains ASO’s copybooks, or books of correspondence. Most of the
correspondence found in these copybooks is related to his work at MRC, Moleculon,
Inc., and the Obermayer Foundation, but personal correspondence and correspondence
related to his activities in science, Jewish, and Soviet organizations are included as
well. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains notes, news clippings, legal documents, photographs, and
brochures documenting various parts of ASO’s personal life. Included are yearbooks
from his time at Camp Kennebec in Maine, materials related to his involvement in
judging local and statewide science fairs, and news clippings on the state of
German-Jewish relations. Also included are documents detailing the “tree incident,” an
incident in which ASO protested the removal of a maple tree on his street in Newton.
For an overview of the "tree incident" in ASO's own words, see "Tree Story" in box 23,
folder 45. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series includes reports, brochures, project files, correspondence, meeting
minutes, financial records, and photographs that document ASO’s professional work as a
chemist and entrepreneur. Included are documents related to ASO’s work at Tracerlab and
Allied Research Associates, the founding and running of his own company Moleculon
Research Corporation and its spinoff Moleculon, Inc., as well as businesses he was
involved in later in life, including Fiberspar and Zerostage Capital. Some folders are
restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains reports, brochures, correspondence, notes, and news clippings
that document ASO’s time working as manager of the Physical Sciences Division and
Chemistry Department at Allied Research Associates, a research and development firm in
Boston, from 1959-1961.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, meeting minutes, brochures, and news
clippings related to Fiberspar, a company specializing in composite tubing, which had
a variety of practical applications ranging from sailboarding to the oil and gas
industry. ASO was a member of the Board of Directors.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes reports, business records, meeting minutes, news clippings,
and project files related to Moleculon, Inc., a spinoff and independent operating
subsidiary of MRC specializing in controlled-release drug delivery products. Because
of the close relationship between MRC and Moleculon, Inc., some of the documents may
overlap between this subseries and the previous subseries. Included are project
reports for their controlled-release developments, documents detailing licensing and
other agreements with MRC, and materials related to their 1988 sale to F.H. Faulding
& Co. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains reports, brochures, news clippings, and newsletters
documenting ASO’s time at Tracerlab, an organization specializing in nucleonics
services and instrumentation, where he worked as a group leader and senior scientist
from 1956-1959. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes bylaws, news clippings, correspondence, and brochures related
to Zero State Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on innovative technology-based
businesses, on which ASO served on the Board of Directors.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series includes brochures, correspondence, photographs, news clippings, notes,
reports, testimony, and legislative documents related to ASO’s involvement in local,
state, national, and international politics. Materials cover campaigns he supported and
for which he volunteered, his efforts to encourage economic conversion and to establish
the SBIR Program, and his work on the Governor’s Management Task Force. Included
throughout the series is correspondence with notable Massachusetts politicians,
including Governor Michael Dukakis, Representative Barney Frank, and Senator Ted
Kennedy. Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains brochures, correspondence, photographs, financial documents,
news clippings, ephemera, and notes documenting ASO’s work on various political
campaigns, ranging from presidential campaigns to campaigns for local aldermen. Of
note are the materials detailing ASO’s involvement with the McGovern for President
campaign in 1972, for which he helped draft McGovern’s science and technology
policies, as well as the documents detailing ASO’s work with the Drinan for Congress
campaign, for which ASO served as treasurer. Some folders are restricted.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

33

1

Bradley (Joseph G.) for Congress

1968

33

2

Buckley (John) for Sheriff

1974

33

3

Carmen (Bill) for Mayor

undated, 1970-1971

33

4

Clinton (Bill) for President

1992-1993

33

5

Clinton (Bill) for President—Inauguration

1997

33

6

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Addresses and Reports by Drinan

1969-1970

33

7

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Budgets

1970-1974

33

8

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Campaign Promotional Materials

1970

33

9

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Contributions

1970

33

10

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Contributions

1970

33

11

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Contributions [restricted]

1970

33

12

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Contributions—Analysis

1970

33

13

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Contributions—Non-monetary

1970

33

14

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Drinan and Obermayer
Correspondence

1970

33

15

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Finance Committee

1970

33

16

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Financial Ledger

1970

33

17

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Financial Statements

1970

33

18

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Fundraising

1970

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

34

1

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Miscellaneous

1970-1974

34

2

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—News Clippings

1970

34

3

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Opponents

1970

34

4

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Position Papers

1970

34

5

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Primary Day Materials

1970

34

6

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Speech at Newton Memorial for Father
Drinan

2007

34

7

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Staff

1970

34

8

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Treasurer Materials

1970

34

9

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Volunteer Materials

1970

34

10

Drinan (Robert) for Congress—Voting Statistics

1962-1970

34

11

Dukakis (Michael) for Governor

1974

34

12

Dukakis (Michael) for President—General

1987-1988

34

13

Dukakis (Michael) for President—News Clippings

1987-1988

34

14

Kennedy (Robert F.) for President

1968

34

15

Kennedy (Ted) for Senate

1976-2005

34

16

Kerry (John) for President

2004

34

17

Malec (Michael) for Alderman-at-Large

1970

34

18

McCarthy (Eugene) for President

1967-1968

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

59OS

7

McCarthy (Eugene) for President—Scientists and Engineers for
McCarthy

1967

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

34

19

McGovern (George) for President—Address to Association of Technical
Professionals

1972

34

20

McGovern (George) for President—Campaign Statements

1972

34

21

McGovern (George) for President—Correspondence

1972

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

35

1

McGovern (George) for President—Democratic National Convention

1972

35

2

McGovern (George) for President—Editorial Committee

35

3

McGovern (George) for President—Ephemera

undated

35

4

McGovern (George) for President—"Full Employment for an America at Peace:
An Alternative National Defense and Economic Posture"

1972

35

5

McGovern (George) for President—Massachusetts Caucus

1972

35

6

McGovern (George) for President—McGovern Committee for Peacetime
Jobs

1972

35

7

McGovern (George) for President—McGovern National Panel on
Security

1972

35

8

McGovern (George) for President—News Clippings

1972

35

9

McGovern (George) for President—Policy on Israel

1972

35

10

McGovern (George) for President—Policy on Science and
Technology

1972

35

11

McGovern (George) for President—Policy on Space

1972

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

36

1

McGovern (George) for President—Promotional Materials

1972

36

2

McGovern (George) for President—SANE: A Citizens' Organization for a Sane
World

1972

36

3

McGovern (George) for President—Scientists for George McGovern

1972

36

4

McGovern (George) for President—"Technology and Science in America at
Peace"

36

5

McGovern (George) for President—"Toward a More Secure America: An
Alternative National Defense Posture"

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes news clippings, reports, and testimony related to ASO’s
efforts to encourage economic conversion. It includes reports of congressional
hearings, as well as transcripts of ASO’s own testimony, on the matter.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains certificates, correspondence, reports, news clippings,
meeting minutes, and photographs related to ASO’s work on the Board of the Governor’s
Management Task Force, which was convened to review Massachusetts’ governmental
operations and to recommend ways to improve these operations to make the state
government more efficient and effective.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, news clippings, and notes relating to ASO’s
dealings with Israeli and Middle East policy. It includes correspondence with
prominent politicians including Representative Barney Frank and Senator Ted Kennedy.
Some folders are restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes news clippings, correspondence, notes, and flyers documenting
ASO’s involvement in a variety of political activities. Of note are materials
documenting his anti-Vietnam war activism, op-eds he wrote for a number of newspapers,
and correspondence with politicians such as Governor Michael Dukakis, Senator Ted
Kennedy, and Representative Barney Frank.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

38

12

1968 Democratic National Convention

1968

38

13

1968 Democratic National Convention—News Clippings

1968

38

14

1970 Democratic State Convention

1970

38

15

Americans for Democratic Action

1970-1974

38

16

Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace

1970-1971

38

17

Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace—Newsletters

1969-1971

38

18

Citizens for Participation Politics

1970, 1994

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

39

1

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act/On-the-job Training

1976

39

2

Conference for New Political Action

1968

39

3

Congressional Testimony on Office of Water Research and
Technology

1981-1982

39

4

Correspondence—Dukakis, Michael

1974-1975

39

5

Correspondence—Dwight, Donald

1972

39

6

Correspondence—Frank, Barney

1989-2002

39

7

Correspondence—Kerry, John

1989-1990

39

8

Massachusetts Political Action for Peace (Mass. PAX)

1969

39

9

Massachusetts State House Conference on Small Business

1987-1988

39

10

Massachusetts Task Force on Capital Formation for Economic Development New
Enterprise Working Group

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This series contains conference materials, legislative documents, correspondence,
news clippings, and photographs detailing ASO’s years of work in helping organize the
SBIR Program. Of note may be the transcripts of ASO’s congressional testimony on the
topic, as well as materials documenting ASO’s work with Senators Ed Brooke and Ted
Kennedy in successfully getting the SBIR bill passed. To read about ASO’s efforts in
his own words, see his piece titled “Origins of the Small Business Innovation Research
Program.”

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

39

23

A Bill to amend the National Science Foundation Act of 1950

1973

39

24

A Bill to provide for a White House Conference on Small
Business

1984

39

25

Capital Gains Reduction, Small Business, and Job Creation

1980

39

26

Conference on Technological Innovation: Government-Industry
Relations

1978

39

1

Congressional Testimony

1971-1973

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

40

2

Congressional Testimony

1978-1979

40

3

Congressional Testimony

1980-1982

40

4

Correspondence—Eskesen, Ann

2002-2004

40

5

Correspondence—Luberoff, Benjamin/CHEMTECH

1979-1981

40

6

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1971-1982

40

7

Correspondence—Mottur, Ellis

1970-1980

40

8

Correspondence—Stewart, Milton D.

1977-1981

40

9

Grantees Meeting

1982

40

10

Hearings Before the Select Committee on Small Business on S. 1860 Small
Business Innovation Act of 1979

1979

40

11

Massachusetts Recipients Meetings

1978

40

12

Meetings of the Committee on Small Business with Members of the Committee's
National Advisory Council

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes news clippings and legislative documents documenting the
dissolution of the Soviet Union and its aftermath, as well as the legislation that was
passed in the US regarding the Soviet Union/Russia. The extensive news clipping
collection mostly includes clippings from the New York
Times, Boston Globe, and Wall Street Journal.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This series includes news clippings, correspondence, lists, meeting minutes, brochures,
financial documents, awards, and photographs documenting the activities of the Obermayer
Foundation. Specifically included are editions of the American
Editorial Review, and materials related to the planning, history, and opening
of the Jewish Museum in Creglingen, Germany; the planning, nominations, and awards
processes of the annual German Jewish History Awards; information about the pro bono
work the Foundation provides to non-profit organizations in helping them devise internet
strategies; and its involvement in JewishGen, particularly as a leader of the German
Jewish Special Interest Group (GerSIG).

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, brochures, meeting minutes, news clippings,
and photographs documenting the planning and opening of the Creglingen Jewish Museum.
Of interest may be the article written by ASO, titled “How Authentication of a Story
Led to Building a Museum,” which describes the journey behind ASO’s decision to build
a museum in the town.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, news clippings, awards, planning materials,
photographs, budgets, and press releases related to the annual German Jewish History
Awards. It includes nomination packets with news clippings and other materials
describing each nominee's work in preserving German Jewish history and culture, the
selection process, and brochures, photographs, and tribute books for the awards
ceremony taking place at the Abgeordnetenhaus in Berlin each year.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains news clippings, correspondence, and presentation materials
related to the Obermayer Foundation’s work in helping non-profit organizations develop
internet strategies and construct websites at a time when the internet was in its
early stages.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, meeting minutes, conference materials, and
bylaws describing the Obermayer Foundation and ASO’s contributions to JewishGen. Of
note is his work in establishing the German Jewish Special Interest Group
(GerSIG).

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This series includes correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, financial documents,
bylaws, notes, and brochures detailing ASO’s involvement in numerous international,
national and local Jewish and Israeli organizations. Included are documents related to
his work on the Board of Directors of AJHS, AFRFI-HEMDAT-ARFR, InterfaithFamily.com, and
the New Israel Fund. Other documents relate to his involvement in the AJC German-Jewish
Dialogue Group and various other organizations promoting Jewish and Israeli causes,
including the Center for Jewish History, Hebrew Union College, and the Boston
Progressive Jewish Leaders Group.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains reports, bylaws, and financial documents related to ASO’s
contributions to AFRFRI-HEMDAT-ARFR, an organization founded in 1995 to promote
religious freedom, tolerance, and pluralism in Israel. Some folders are
restricted.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence and news clippings documenting meetings of the
AJC’s German-Jewish Dialogue Group, a group that met to discuss German-Jewish issues,
of which ASO and JSO were active members.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes meeting minutes, correspondence, and notes describing ASO’s
work as a Board member of AJHS and a member of the Board of Overseers of AJHS’s Boston
archives. Of interest is ASO’s work in reaching an agreement between the Center for
Jewish History (home to AJHS in New York) and the Mormon Church for the use of the
Church’s genealogical records.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains meeting minutes, business plans, reports, presentations, and
notes relating to ASO’s efforts as a Board member of InterfaithFamily.com, a web
resource promoting Jewish life and identity to interfaith families. ASO was
particularly involved in increasing InterfaithFamily.com’s social media and internet
presence.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes brochures, notes, and correspondence detailing ASO’s work
with the New Israel Fund, for which he was on the Board of Directors and served on the
Finance Committee and Roles Subcommittee.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series contains brochures, meeting minutes, conference materials, correspondence,
photographs, awards, and newsletters describing ASO’s activities in various scientific
organizations. ASO was an active member of these organizations and often held
high-ranking positions, including serving as vice president and member of the Board of
Directors of AASRC, section chairman and a member of the Board of Trustees of NESACS,
president of ATP, treasurer of FAS, and member of the Advisory Council of the NSF. Many
of these organizations focused on helping small research and development companies
succeed and advocating for and helping find better job opportunities for those in the
science and engineering professions.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes meeting minutes, notes, brochures, newsletters, conference
materials, and administrative records of the AASRC, an organization in which ASO was
actively involved and for which he served as a member of the Board of Directors and as
vice president. The AASRC worked to strengthen and advance the status of its members
and member firms. Included in this subseries are materials related to the Industrial
Innovation Conference, a conference organized by the AASRC which brought buyers and
sellers of technology and innovation together.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

50

24

Conferences—Annual Conference

1974

50

25

Conferences—Business Opportunities for Small R&D Firms in Energy
Research, Development, and Demonstration

1977

50

26

Conferences—Chemical Innovation Conference

1985

50

27

Conferences—Energy and the Small Businessman

1979

50

28

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1980

50

29

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1980

50

30

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1981

50

31

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1981

50

32

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1982

50

33

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1982

50

34

Conferences—Industrial Innovation Conference

1984

50

35

Conferences—Opportunities at ERDA for Small R&D Companies

1976

50

36

Conferences—Opportunities for Small R&D and High-Technology Based Firms
in Government

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains brochures, awards, meeting minutes, and newsletters
documenting ASO’s involvement in the ACS, as well as in its regional subsection,
NESACS. Also included are nominations, notes, and correspondence regarding the annual
Esselen Award for Chemistry, an award sponsored by NESACS that recognizes a chemist
whose work has contributed to the public well-being. ASO served on the Esselen Award
Committee, which selected the award winners.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, notes, and newsletters related to ASO’s
activities in the FAS. Also included are the plans and publications for the group’s
Congressional Exchange Project, which encouraged members of Congress to visit the
Soviet Union in order to gain a first-hand understanding of the country and its
relationship with the United States.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains news clippings, notes, correspondence, and brochures that
document ASO’s involvement with miscellaneous scientific organizations, including High
Technology for Professionals for Peace and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series includes reports, correspondence, notes, conference materials, brochures,
news clippings, newsletters, proposals, and video recordings of ASO’s efforts to bring
market economics to the Soviet Union/Russia, as well as to promote dialogue and
understanding the two countries. ASO founded two organizations to accomplish these
goals: East-West TV (previously called American Soviet Economic Education Television, or
AMSEE-TV), an educational foundation that produced programs for Russian television
explaining market economics, and the Soviet Countertrade Group, an organization that
helped private enterprises emerge in the Soviet Union. He was also involved the US-USSR
Bridges for Peace/Transnational Institute, a citizens project for dialogue.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains conference materials, reports, correspondence, notes, video
recordings, news clippings, and proposals related to ASO’s work as founder and
president of East-West TV. Of special interest may be the correspondence between ASO
and a number of politicians, particularly Senator Ted Kennedy, but also Senators
Harris Wofford, Charles Robb, and Frank Lautenberg, and Representative David Obey.
Also included are the planning materials for and final recordings of the various
television programs East-West TV produced, including a historical documentary on the
rise of fascism in Germany and communist totalitarianism in the Soviet Union, as well
a series titled “Russians in America: the New Working Environment,” which described
life and work in a market economy. Many of these materials are in Russian.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

52

16

Commercial TV Contracts

1991-1992

52

17

Commission on Radio and Television Policy

1993

52

18

Commission on Radio and Television Policy—Business Market Forum

1993

52

19

Commission on Radio and Television Policy—Reports

undated, 1992-1993

52

20

Commission on Radio and Television Policy—Working Group on the Changing
Economic Relations Arising from Democratization, Privatization and New
Technologies

1993

52

21

Conferences—The Challenges Facing Democracy in Russia and its Implications
for the United States

1993

52

22

Conferences—Partnership for Progress: A US-NIS Conference on Democracy and
the Market Economy

1993

52

23

Conferences—Partnership for Progress: A US-NIS Conference on Democracy and
the Market Economy—Follow—up Meeting

1993

52

24

Conferences—Reform at the Crossroads: Anticipating the Next
Russia

1993

52

25

Conferences—The Struggle for a Free Press in Russia

1994

52

26

Correspondence—Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Summers,
Robert)

1991-1995

52

27

Correspondence—Business Dealings

1991-1992

52

28

Correspondence—Congress—Congressional Committees

1992-1993

52

29

Correspondence—Congress—Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee

1992-1993

52

30

Correspondence—Congress—House of Representatives

1991-1992

52

31

Correspondence—Congress—Senate

1992-1993

52

32

Correspondence—Kennedy, Ted

1995

52

33

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1992

52

34

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1991-1992

52

35

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1993

52

36

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1993

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

53

1

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1993-1995

53

2

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1994

53

3

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1995

53

4

Correspondence—Miscellaneous

1996-1997

53

5

Correspondence—Morningstar, Richard

1995-1996

53

6

Correspondence—SCOLA

1992

53

7

Correspondence—Velikhov, Evgeny

1992

53

8

Endorsements

1991-1992

53

9

Eurasia Foundation

1992-1995

53

10

General Overview

undated

53

11

Information on Eastern Europe Television Market

1991

53

12

Information on Russian Television Market

1992-1993

53

13

Legal Documents

1991-1994

53

14

Legal Documents (Russian)

1990s

53

15

Miscellaneous

1993-1995

53

16

News Clippings

1993-1994

53

17

Photographs

undated, 1986-1988

53

18

Presentation Notes on Russian TV Talk

undated

53

19

Programs—Russians in America: The New Working Environment—Interviews and
Transcripts

1993-1994

53

20

Programs—Russians in America: The New Working
Environment—General

1993-1994

53

21

Programs—Russians in America: The New Working
Environment—Overview

1992

53

22

Programs—Russians in America: The New Working Environment—Sukhoi
Visit

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This series contains correspondence, planning materials, and notes documenting ASO’s
work as founder and president of the Soviet Countertrade Group. Included is the
planning of the organization’s attempts to bring companies together to finance and
invest in hotels in the USSR.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

54

5

Business Tour '90

1990

54

6

Central House of Journalists

1990-1991

54

7

Hale and Dorr

1990-1991

54

8

Hotel Project—Miscellaneous

1990

54

9

Hotel Project—Overview

1989-1990

54

10

Miscellaneous

1990-1991

54

11

Soviet Business Center

1990-1991

54

12

Statement of Intention for Joint Activities with Sestroretsk
Association

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This series includes conference materials, newsletters, correspondence, brochures and
notes related to ASO’s work with the US-USSR Bridges for Peace/Transnational
Institute, whose mission was to promote dialogue and understanding between the US and
the Soviet Union.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series contains brochures, meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, notes, and
news clippings related to various organizations in which ASO was involved, particularly
the Charles River Museum of Industry, Newton, Massachusetts’s public access channel
NewTV, and Boston’s public radio station WBUR.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries includes correspondence, meeting minutes, and news clippings
documenting ASO’s work with NewTV . Of particular interest is materials related to the
controversy that erupted after ASO requested the organization air the Middle Eastern
news program “Mosaic,” which some deemed to be anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. Included
are numerous news articles, opinion pieces and letters to the editor both in support
and opposition to the program’s airing, as well as responses from ASO.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries consists of correspondence, reports, brochures, and notes related
ASO’s activities in various miscellaneous organizations, including the New England
Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Ford Hall Forum, and the Smaller Business
Association of New England (SBANE).

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

54

29

American Civil Liberties Union

2007-2009

54

30

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

2004-2008

54

31

Democracy Now

2006

54

32

Ford Hall Forum

1996-2013

54

33

International Institute for Mediation and Historical Conciliation
(IIMHC)

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by date.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, and notes related
to ASO’s work with Boston’s public radio station. Included are his activities on the
organization’s Board of Overseers, Executive Advisory Council, and New Media and
Technology Committee, as well as his efforts to encourage community building through
the station’s internet presence.